Last Wednesday marked the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, one of the deadliest, most destructive storms in American history, and one which has stirred more political and social controversy than any natural disaster in the past century.

On Aug. 29, 2005, Katrina struck southern Mississippi and Louisiana, including New Orleans, killing almost 2,000, destroying hundreds of thousands of homes and causing over $80 billion in damage. A storm surge through Lake Pontchartrain breached New Orleans’ levees in numerous places, flooding 80 percent of the city.

The flooding in New Orleans conjured apocalyptic images. Beleaguered storm victims perched atop roofs of submerged houses. Gangs preying on families seeking refuge in public shelters. Sick and elderly perishing in hospitals and nursing homes lacking power and provisions. Policemen looting stores. And, of course, those notorious white box-trailers from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Katrina-ravaged New Orleans became symbolic of the worst nightmares of our age – government impotence in the face of disaster, climate change’s catastrophic consequences, racial inequality’s stubborn persistence, insurers’ venal intransigence, and frightening violence in a vacuum of law and order.

It was reminiscent of the Johnstown Flood of 1889, which was also an epochal symbol – a caricature of the arrogant and careless way in which 19th-century robber barons treated the working class.

Lake Conemaugh, 14 miles from the western Pennsylvania industrial city of Johnstown, was the site of seasonal cottages and an exclusive sporting club, whose 61 members boasted the cream of Pittsburgh society, including steel magnate, Andrew Carnegie. The dam which confined the lake had deteriorated from years of neglect. It was repaired and altered to preserve the lake and its fish stock for the club’s members, but in a shoddy and dangerous manner.

On May 31, 1889, following a night of heavy rains, the dam burst, sending lake waters hurtling down the river valley towards Johnstown. A 37-foot wave struck the downtown, decimating four square miles, inundating or sweeping away 1,600 homes and killing 2,209 people in about 10 minutes.

Few Americans today know about the Johnstown Flood.

Katrina, too, could also be relegated to an unpleasant, half-forgotten memory or, worse, a resented burden. Many have questioned whether tax dollars should aid the reconstruction of New Orleans, a city that showed bad judgment over the past century in building out onto filled swamp land, a lot of it below sea level.

On a recent trip to New Orleans to visit our daughter, Ariel, an AmeriCorps volunteer working on flood relief projects, I came away with a different view, convinced of the importance of public and private support for the city’s rebuilding efforts.

Much of New Orleans’ infrastructure is in shambles. It will likely take at least a decade for the city to fully recover. An estimated 200,000 homes in and around the city were damaged or destroyed. Entire suburban neighborhoods are now virtual ghost towns, the front doors of derelict houses bearing coded markings scratched by rescue teams searching for survivors, their upper stories encircled by yellow-brown stains left by ebbing flood waters.

Many malls, stores, offices, churches and schools are boarded up, large hospital complexes are vacant, and the upper floors of most downtown skyscrapers remain uninhabitable.

Thousands of Katrina survivors have opted not to return to New Orleans, whose current population is estimated at 60 percent of its previous level of 485,000. Yet, there is much about the New Orleans saga that is positive.

– The levees are being repaired and improved to better withstand future floods.

– The city’s irreplaceable cultural heritage is largely intact.

Founded in 1718, New Orleans was ruled by France and Spain before being sold to the U.S. in 1803. Its original settlers were joined by American traders, African slaves, free blacks, French-speaking Acadians from the Canadian Maritimes and Irish and German immigrants.

New Orleans’ exotic architecture, cuisine and dialect reflect this rich ethnic mix, giving it an international flavor – typified by the ornate, flower-draped iron balconies of the French Quarter, savory gumbos and the annual Mardi Gras celebration. Musicians, writers, artists and actors have long been drawn to New Orleans, the birthplace of jazz.

– A vital part of America’s economy, New Orleans has succeeded in getting many of its critical business components back on line. Most important of these is the Port of New Orleans and the nearby Port of Louisiana, which together form the fourth busiest harbor in the world.

This port system, near the mouth of the Mississippi River, is located at a strategic shipping, rail, highway and pipeline nexus. Most U.S. grain leaves from, and most imported iron and steel comes in, here. Oil and gas from numerous offshore drilling rigs, as well as 17 refineries along Louisiana’s coast – supplying a substantial part of America’s domestically produced energy – flow through it.

– Katrina awakened an environmental consciousness in Louisiana, previously known for heedless exploitation of its natural resources. The state is exploring how to reverse the erosion of its coastal delta, about 2,000 square miles of which have disappeared into the Gulf of Mexico since 1900. These swampy lowlands are important wildlife habitats and buffers against hurricanes.

But most important, Katrina tapped that wellspring of altruism which flows from Americans in times of dire need.

The Johnstown Flood brought a similar outpouring. The newly organized American Red Cross under Clara Barton came to the aid of local citizens. Millions of dollars in contributions were collected across the United States, and more than 1,400 railcars of donated food, clothing, medical supplies, building materials and coffins rolled into Johnstown.

Since Katrina, an estimated 650,000 volunteers, many college students and members of faith-based organizations, have gone to the Gulf Coast to help with demolition, rebuilding and social services.

Through its own efforts and with continued assistance from outside, New Orleans’ recovery can, indeed, become the rainbow that follows the storm.

Elliott L. Epstein, a Lewiston attorney, is founder and board president of Museum L-A and an adjunct history instructor at Central Maine Community College. E-mail him at [email protected].